nri tT1    oTT^r^X/  V^\ 

THE  STORY  Q 


LINCOLN 


UBLfC-SCHOOU  PUBLISHING  CO 


Bi.  3TON,  ILL 


LINCOLN 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


THE  STORY  OF 

LINCOLN 


FOR  CHILDREN. 


BY 

FRANCES  CRAVENS. 


PUBLIC-SCHOOL  PUBLISHING  CO. 

BLOOMINGTON,  ILL. 

1898. 


Copyright  1898. 
PUBLIC-SCHOOL  PUBLISHING  Co. 

BLOOMINGTON,   ILL. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.  His  Early  Home 9 

II.  Abraham  Learns  to  Read 15 

III.  They  Remove  to  Indiana 17 

IV.  His  Mother's  Death 25 

V.  His  New  Mother 29 

VI.  At  School 32 

VII.  He  Loves  to  Read 34 

VIII.  Hard  Work 39 

IX.  In  Illinois 44 

X.  A  Look  at  the  Country   50 

XI.  The  Black  Hawk  War .55 

XII.  Candidate  for  the  Legislature 62 

XIII.  Surveyor,  Postmaster,  and  Lawyer. 66 

XEV.      Lincoln  as  Legislator 70 

XV.  Harrison  Elected  President 74 

XVI.  His  Great  Debate  with  Douglas 79 

XVII.  His  Nomination  for  President 84 

!  XVIII.  His  Election 87 

XIX.       Mr.  Lincoln  as  President 91 

CQ  G 

rf      XX.         Stories  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Kindness 97 

XXI.       Death  of  Mr.  Lincoln Ill 

2?  When  Lincoln  Died  (poem) 116 

•4 

of  .» 


ST.  GAUDEN'S  STATUE  OF  LINCOLN. 


THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN 


i. 

His  EARLY  HOME, 


ANY   years   ago    there    moved    from 
Virginia  to  what  is  now  Kentucky, 
a   number   of  families   who    wished 
to  settle  a  new  state.    Daniel  Boone 
led  the  way  across  the  mountains  into  this 
hunting  ground  of  the  Indians. 

Among  the  number  who  went  with  him 
and  settled  in  the  wild  region  where  bears, 
deer,  and  buffalo  were  plentiful,  was  a  fam- 
ily named  Lincoln.  One  member  of  this 
family  afterward  settled  in  Harden  county, 
near  the  present  little  village  of  Hodgen- 
ville.  His  name  was  Thomas  Lincoln. 


10 


THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


DANIEL   BOONE. 


He  cut  his  way  through  the  underbrush 
and  lived  on  the  game  he  killed  with  his 
rifle.  One  day  he  came  to  a  beautiful  ever- 
flowing  spring  and  decided  to  build  him  a 


His  EARLY  HOME.  11 

home  near  by.  He  soon  chose  a  site  and 
in  a  very  short  time  had  built  a  one-room 
cabin.  He  thought  it  unnecessary  to  make 
a  door  and  hang  it  on  hinges,  so  he  simply 
left  an  open  doorway  facing  the  spring. 
Neither  did  he  provide  any  window  except 


LINCOLN'S  BIRTHPLACE. 

an  open  space  near  the  large  clay  chimney, 
through  which  not  only  light,  but  snow, 
rain,  or  sleet  could  easily  enter. 

It  was  to  this  cabin  he  brought  his  young 
bride,  Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln.  Although 
there  was  no  floor  except  the  hard,  bare 
earth,  and  no  ceiling  except  the  hewn 
boards  of  the  roof,  Mrs.  Lincoln  tried  to 


12  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

make  the  cabin  home-like  and  comfortable. 

As  soon  as  the  cold,  wintry  winds  began 
to  blow,  she  hung  a  piece  of  her  own  hand- 
spun  cotton  over  the  window  and  a  large 
bear  or  deer  skin  at  the  doorway. 

She  kept  a  glowing  fire  in  the  great  fire- 
place, and  on  the  rude  bed,  made  of  poles 
and  covered  with  furry  skins,  she  spread 
some  of  the  bright  quilts  she  had  made  be- 
fore her  marriage. 

It  was  in  this  rude  log  cabin  on  the  i2th 
of  February,  1809,  tnat  a  little  baby  boy 
was  born,  who  was  one  day  to  be  known  all 
over  the  world.  Two  years  before,  a 
little  girl  had  come  into  the  home;  her  name 
was  Sarah. 

The  little  fellow  was  named  Abraham, 
after  his  grandfather.  The  baby  grew  rap- 
idly and  was,  in  time,  strong  enough  to  go  into 
the  woods  with  his  sister  to  pick  violets  or 
watch  the  rabbits  and  birds. 


His  EARLY  HOME.  13 

He  and  his  sister  had  neither  playmates 
nor  toys,  but  they  were  happy  children,  for 
their  mother  was  very  kind  and  gentle;  and, 
although  she  was  always  busy,  she  found 
time  to  talk  with  them  about  the  wild 
flowers  and  animals,  and  to  tell  them  beau- 
tiful stories  from  the  Bible. 

Having  to  work  all  the  time  herself,  she 
taught  the  children  to  help  her  in  many 
ways;  and  even  though  they  were  so  small 
they  were  constantly  at  her  side.  They 
could  fill  her  shuttle  with  the  bright  yarn 
which  she  wove  into  their  clothes,  or  run  to 
the  spring  near  by,  for  the  water  which  was 
to  make  the  *  'hoe-cake"  or  "corn  dodger"  for 
dinner. 

They  also  soon  learned  to  use  the  rake 
and  hoe  and  were  able  to  help  the  dear 
mother  who  in  the  springtime  toiled  in  the 
garden  all  day  long. 

The   children    soon    learned    that    their 


14  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

mother  liked  to  have  her  little  cabin  neat; 
and  they  were  proud  to  hear  the  neighbors 
say  that  their  house  was  the  cleanest  in  the 
whole  neighborhood. 


ABRAHAM  LEARNS  TO  READ.     15 


II. 

ABRAHAM  LEARNS  TO  READ, 


Although  Mrs.  Lincoln  had  grown  up 
among  the  rude  people  of  the  backwoods, 
and  had  never  known  a  different  life,  she 
could  do  one  thing  that  very  few  of  the  set- 
tlers could  do — she  could  read.  She' taught 
her  husband  to  read,  also,  and  to  write  his 
name. 

She  earnestly  desired  that  her  children 
should  know  how  to  read  and  write,  so  she 
began  reading  the  Bible  to  them  just  as 
soon  as  they  were  old  enough  to  understand. 
Abe  learned  to  love  the  beautiful  stories  of 
Joseph  and  David,  and  thought,  "How  nice 
it  would  be  if  I  could  only  read  those  stories 
myself.  I  will  learn,  and  when  mother  is 


16  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

busy,  I  can  read  to  her."  His  mother  taught 
him  and  he  was  very  proud  of  his  know- 
ledge. The  neighbors  thought  it  a  wonder- 
ful thing  that  so  young  a  boy  should  be  able 
to  read.  There  were  very  few  of  them  who 
could  do  so  much,  and  besides,  they  did 
not  see  any  reason  why  they  should  wish  to 
learn.  They  felt  that  what  they  most  needed 
to  know  was  to  shoot  a  rifle.  Soon  after 
Abe's  mother  had  taught  him  to  read,  a 
school-master  came  to  the  neighborhood  and 
obtained  leave  to  teach  school  in  a  cabin 
not  far  from  Mr.  Lincoln's.  To  this  teacher 
Abraham  was  sent.  He  was  the  only  little 
child  in  the  school,  but  he  could  spell  and 
read  better  than  any  of  the  grown  pupils. 


THEY  REMOVE  TO  INDIANA.  17 


III. 

THEY  REMOVE  TO  INDIANA, 


But  Abraham  was  not  to  go  to  this  school 
very  long,  because  his  father  had  concluded 
to  move  to  Indiana. 

The  family  lived  near  the  Rolling  Fork 
river  which  flows  into  the  Ohio,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  concluded  to  transport  a  portion  of 
his  goods  in  a  flat-boat  which  he  and  Abe 
would  build.  When  the  boat  was  finished, 
Mr.  Lincoln  started  out  alone  to  seek  a  new 
home. 

Abe  and  a  friend  of  his,  named  Austin 
Golliher,  went  every  day  to  an  old  carpen- 
ter shop  near  the  Lincoln  home  to  play 
"tumbling  summer  sault"  in  the  pile  of 
shavings  his  father  had  left.  These  two 


18  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

little  back-woods  boys  had  many  a  frolic  to- 
gether, and  we  are  told  that  in  one  of  these 
Austin  saved  Abe's  life.  They  were  one 
day  chasing  partridges.  While  trying  to 
'  'coon"  across  Knob  creek  on  a  log,  Abe  fell 
in,  and  not  knowing  how  to  swim  would  have 
drowned  had  not  Austin  helped  him  out. 
This  he  did  with  a  branch  of  a  sycamore  tree. 

But  we  must  now  follow  Abe's  father  on 
his  winding  journey  down  the  river.  He 
rowed  safely  into  the  Ohio,  but  there  his 
raft  broke  in  pieces.  He,  however,  fished 
out  his  kit  of  tools  and  most  of  his  goods, 
and  continued  his  journey,  landing  safely  in 
Indiana  at  the  home  of  a  settler  named 
Posey. 

He  left  his  goods  with  Mr.  Posey  and 
started  alone  to  find  a  location  for  his  new 
home.  During  his  first  day's  journey  he 
selected  a  spot  which  pleased  him.  He 
then  returned  to  Knob  creek  for  his  family. 


THEY  REMOVE  TO  INDIANA.  19 

What  a  humble  picture  they  must  have 
made  with  their  few  possessions!  Bedding, 
clothing,  and  a  few  pans  and  kettles  were 
strapped  to  the  saddles  of  the  two  borrowed 
horses.  The  poor  creatures  stumbled  many 
times  as  they  trod  the  narrow  path  through 
the  wild  region,  bearing  the  Lincoln  family 
and  their  household  goods.  For  seven  days 
they  traveled,  stopping  under  the  shade  of 
trees,  near  some  silvery  brook  to  rest.  At 
night  where  do  you  suppose  they  slept?  On 
the  green  grass  with  a  blanket  beneath 
them,  and  one  for  cover.  This  was  a  weary 
journey  for  the  tired  mother  and  the  little 
sister,  but  they  cheerfully  bore  the  trials, 
and  talked  gaily  of  the  trip. 

When  they  came  to  the  spot  Mr.  Lincoln 
had  selected,  he  said,  "Welcome  to  your 
new  home."  This  home  was  yet  only  a 
clump  of  big  trees,  and  no  house  at  all. 
They  slept  on  the  ground,  as  usual.  Early 


20  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

in  the  morning  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Abe  began 
to  clear  a  spot  on  which  to  build  a  cabin. 

During  the  morning  a  neighbor  came  to 
bring  them  some  dinner,  and  stayed  to  help 
with  the  cabin.     Mrs.  Lincoln,  Sarah,  Abe, 
and  the  two   men  worked  hard   that  day, 
and  when  night  came  they  had  shelter,  for 
they  had  finished  building  what   the  early 
settlers   called    a    ' 'half-face    camp."     This 
was  a  rude  shed  made  of  poles  and  covered 
with  leaves  and  branches.      It  was  enclosed 
only  on   three  sides,    leaving  one   side  en 
tirely  open.    In  front  of  the  open  side,  a  fire 
was  kept  burning  all  the  time  to  warm  the 
''camp.'1     Over  the  fire   was  suspended  a 
large  iron  kettle,    and  in   this  kettle   Mrs. 
Lincoln    prepared    the    wild    game,    beans, 
corn,  or  other  food  for  the   dinner  and  sup- 
per.     She  sometimes  baked  Irish  or  sweet 
potatoes   in  the  ashes,   and  here,    too,   the 
children  often  roasted  nuts. 


THEY  REMOVE  TO  INDIANA.  21 

The  interior  of  the  camp  was  as  comfort- 
able as  Mrs.  Lincoln's  deft  hands  could 
make  it.  Abraham  and  Sarah  carried  in 
fresh  leaves  to  cover  the  hard  earth  floor, 
and  over  these  were  spread  big  furry 
skins  of  wild  animals.  In  this  camp  the 
family  spent  the  first  year  in  Indiana. 
Would  you  like  to  have  lain  down  to  sleep 
night  after  night  where  bears,  deer,  and 
other  wild  animals  could  easily  walk  into 
your  home?  Think  of  the  cold  nights,  of 
the  howling  wind,  and  the  deep  snows  of 
those  long  months!  But  the  Lincoln  family 
were  used  to  many  hardships,  and  Thomas 
Lincoln  was  well  satisfied  as  long  as  he 
could  live  where  wild  game  was  plentiful, 
and  he  and  Abraham  could  easily  keep  the 
family  supplied  with  meat. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  kind-hearted  man  and 
fond  of  his  children.  Often,  after  a  busy 
day  of  felling  the  trees,  out  of  which  a  new 


22  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

home  was  built  in  the  spring,  he  would  sit 
in  the  evening  with  Abraham  on  his  knee, 
telling  him  thrilling  tales  of  the  Indians. 

One  of  these  stories  was  of  Abe's  grand- 
father. Abraham  liked  to  hear  his  father 
talk  of  Indians,  but  this  one  of  his  grand- 
father almost  made  his  hair  stand  on  end. 

4 'One  morning,  when  I  was  only  six  years 
old, "began  Mr.  Lincoln,  "My  father  started 
out  to  work.  He  took  my  two  older  brothers 
and  myself  with  him.  We  had  gone  only  a 
short  distance  from  our  cabin  when  an  Indian 
darted  out  from  behind  a  tree,  rushed  to- 
ward us,  and  before  we  had  time  to  defend 
ourselves,  killed  our  father.  My  younger 
brother  started  for  the  nearest  fort  for  help, 
but  Mordecai,  my  eldest  brother,  ran  home 
for  his  musket.  He  climbed  up  in  the  loft 
where  he  could  see  the  Indian  plainly,  and 
took  good  aim.  He  fired  and  the  Indian 
fell  dead.  I  sat  there  beside  my  father, 


THEY  REMOVE  TO  INDIANA. 


23 


DEATH  OF  LINCOLN'S  GRANDFATHER. 

sobbing  as  if  my  heart  would  break.  I 
was  too  scared  to  move.  The  Indian  was 
just  about  to  seize  me  when  Mordecai  shot 
him.  I  screamed  with  fright,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  Mordecai  took  me  in  his  arms  and 
tried  to  soothe  me;  but  I  did  not  get  over 
the  fright  for  a  long  time/ 

The  story  telling  did  not  last  very  late  at 
night,    because  all   had   to  retire   early   in 


24  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

order  to  be  ready  for  the  next  day's  work. 
Those  were  busy  days  for  Abraham,  al- 
though he  was  only  a  little  boy.  Hunting, 
chopping,  hewing,  and  trapping,  left  him 
little  time  to  play;  but  perhaps  he  did  not 
think  of  that. 

But  there  came  some  terribly  cold  days 
during  this  winter  in  the  camp,  when  Abra- 
ham could  not  go  out  of  doors  to  work. 
Those  days  Abraham  never  forgot,  for  at 
such  times  his  mother  taught  him  how  to 
write. 

At  last  the  long  winter  passed  and  spring 
came  with  birds,  wild  flowers,  and  sunshine. 
It  was  then  that  the  new  cabin  was  built. 
Although  it  was  only  a  rude  log  house  with 
one  room  below  and  a  loft  above,  the  family 
thought  it  very  fine;  as  indeed  it  was,  com- 
pared with  their  other  homes. 


His  MOTHER'S  DEATH.  25 


IV. 

His  MOTHER'S  DEATH 


Everybody  was  busy  all  day  long  that 
spring  and  summer.  The  vegetables  had 
to  be  planted  and  cared  for;  cooking,  wash- 
ing, ironing,  spinning,  all  required  Mrs. 
Lincoln's  care.  Besides  this  the  corn  had 
to  be  planted  and  tended,  and  the  good 
mother  helped  with  everything.  Poor,  tired 
mother! 

• 

When  autumn  came  the  willing  hands  of 
the  children  had  to  take  care  of  the  house, 
for  Mrs.  Lincoln  had  become  too  weak  to 
work.  One  day  she  was  taken  very  ill. 
The  neighbors  came  and  did  all  in  their 
power  to  ease  her  pain,  but  nothing  helped 
her. 


26  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

A  few  days  after  this  she  called  Abe  to 
her  bedside  and  told  him  she  must  leave 
him  very  soon.  Abe  knew  what  those 
words  meant,  and  he  sobbed  bitterly;  but 
his  mother  calmed  him  at  last  by  telling 
him  she  was  going  to  a  beautiful  home, 
where  he  could  come  some  day  if  he  would 
try  to  live  as  she  had  taught  him.  One 
of  the  things  she  said  to  him  was, 
"Mother  wants  her  little  boy  to  be  honest, 
truthful,  and  kind  to  everybody,  and  always 
to  trust  in  God. " 

In  early  October,  she  closed  her  tired 
eyes,  and  Abraham  knew  she  would  not 
open  them  again.  Kind  neighbors  buried 
her  under  a  large  sycamore  tree  near  by. 
Here  they  tenderly  laid  Nancy  Lincoln  to 
rest. 

How  lonely  the  children  were  during  that 
long  winter  which  followed!  Abraham  was 
very  sad  because  no  minister  could  be 


His  MOTHER'S  DEATH.  27 

present  to  preach  a  funeral  sermon.  But 
not  one  lived  in  all  that  country.  At  last 
one  day  the  lonely  child  thought  of  a 
preacher  they  had  known  in  Kentucky. 
He  believed  he  would  come  if  they  could 
let  him  know  about  it.  He  asked  permis- 
sion of  his  father  to  write  a  letter  asking  the 
preacher  to  come.  Mr.  Lincoln  consented 
and  helped  Abraham  by  making  a  pen  from 
a  goose  quill. 

When  the  letter  was  finished  it  was 
directed  to  David  Elkin  -  -  this  was  the 
preacher's  name — and  sent  by  some  friend 
to  Kentucky. 

At  last  the  letter  reached  the  good  man, 
who  was  so  touched  by  Abraham's  sorrow- 
ful pleading  that  he  set  out  at  once  for  the 
Lincoln  home,  although  he  knew  he  would 
gain  no  reward  except  the  gratitude  of  the 
child.  Perhaps  he  thought,  too,  that  in  do- 
ing a  noble  act  he  would  feel  happier  than 


28  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

money  could  make  him.  It  was  a  long  jour- 
ney, over  a  hundred  miles,  through  trackless 
forests  inhabited  by  wild  animals;  but  he 
never  faltered  in  his  determination. 

At  last  when  early  spring  had  come  he 
arrived.  Again  the  kind  neighbors  gathered 
to  honor  the  memory  of  her  whom  they  all 
loved.  They  listened  to  the  comforting 
words  of  the  minister,  sang  hymns,  and 
joined  fervently  in  the  prayers  that  were 
offered.  From  that  day  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  a  nobler  boy.  He  seemed  to  feel  the 
force  of  his  mother's  teachings  and  to  resolve 
to  become  a  man  who  would  be  an  honor 
to  his  Christian  mother.  When  he  was 
president  of  the  United  States  he  once  said: 
4 'All  that  I  am,  or  hope  to  be,  I  owe  to  my 
angel  mother." 


His  NEW  MOTHER.  29 


V. 

His  NEW  MOTHER. 


The  year  after  his  mother's  death  was  the 
saddest  Abraham  ever  knew.  He  longed 
so  much  for  her  that  his  father  felt  troubled 
about  him.  Knowing  how  Abe  loved  books 
he  concluded  to  find  him  something  to  read, 
thus  hoping  to  help  the  little  fellow  forget 
his  sorrow.  Hearing  that  a  friend  living 
twenty  miles  away  owned  "Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress,'1 he  walked  all  that  distance,  bought 
the  book,  and  took  it  home  to  Abe,  who 
read  it  with  great  delight. 

Before  the  next  December  a  beam  of  sun- 
shine came  into  Abe's  lonely  life.  A  new 
mother  came  with  Mr.  Lincoln  on  his  return 
from  a  visit  to  his  old  Kentucky  home. 


30  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

Sarah  and  Abraham  were  glad  indeed  to 
welcome  the  cheery,  bright-faced  woman 
whom  their  father  brought  home  as  his 
wife.  They  were  also  pleased  to  see  the 
two  happy  girls  and  the  boy  who,  they  were 
told,  were  to  be  their  sisters  and  brother. 
Their  faces  fairly  glowed  with  happiness 
when  they  discovered  the  six  good  chairs,  a 
bureau,  and  some  other  pieces  of  furniture, 
beside  a  nice  soft  feather  bed,  which  their 
new  mother  had  brought  with  her  for  their 
home.  They  felt  that  a  happy  change  had 
come  into  their  lives.  Indeed  it  was  not  long 
before  they  realized  the  comfort  and  cheer 
their  new  mother  had  also  brought,  for  Mrs. 
Lincoln  was  a  tender-hearted  woman  and 
felt  very  sorry  for  the  two  poorly-dressed, 
barefooted  children  who  had  greeted  her  so 
kindly.  She  made  warm  clothes  for  them 
and  when  night  came  she  tucked  them  into 
a  clean  soft  bed  with  plenty  of  warm  covers. 


His  NEW  MOTHER.  31 

She  persuaded  her  husband  to  lay  a  wooden 
floor,  to  "chink"  the  crevices  between  the 
logs,  and  to  hang  a  door.  After  this  was 
done,  she  arranged  her  good  furniture  so  as 
to  make  the  once  cheerless  house  very  bright 
and  home-like. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  loved  children  and  was  as 
kind  to  Sarah,  Abraham,  and  a  little  cousin, 
John  Hanks,  who  made  his  home  with  them, 
as  to  her  own,  but  perhaps  the  one  who 
showed  her  the  greatest  love  and  kindness 
in  return  was  Abraham.  She  soon  learned 
to  lean  upon  him  and  to  wish  to  help  him  to 
gain  the  education  he  so  much  craved. 


32  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


VI. 

AT  SCHOOL 


Not  many  months  after  this  marriage,  the 
people  of  the  neighborhood  decided  to  build 
a  school-house;    and  soon  the  men  met  and 
chopped  down  the  trees,   hewed   the   logs, 
and  raised  the  cabin.     There  were  no  desks 
in  the  school-houses  in  Indiana  at  that  time, 
but  the  sturdy  youths  did  not  object  to  sit- 
ting  on   seats   made  of   logs  split  in   two. 
The  men  made  several  benches,  built  a  chim- 
ney of  sticks  and  clay,  and  left  a  space  for 
one  window.   This  they  covered  with  greased 
paper.     When  the  house  was  completed,  a 
man   named  Azel  Dorsey  was  engaged   to 
teach  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  Mrs. 
Lincoln  started  Abe  to  school.    Perhaps  you 


AT  SCHOOL.  33 

would  like  to  have  a  picture  of  him  at  this 
time.  He  had  on  a  buckskin  suit  of  clothes, 
and  a  cap  which  Mrs.  Lincoln  made  from 
the  skin  of  a  raccoon. 

He  carried  an  old  arithmetic  as  well  as  a 
speller;  how  proud  and  happy  he  felt,  and 
how  rapidly  he  learned  that  winter!  One 
day  during  this  term,  Mr.  Dorsey  said  to 
his  pupils,  "Boys,  somebody  has  broken  my 
buck's  horns  that  were  nailed  to  the  back  of 
my  house.  Do  you  know  who  did  it?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Abe,  "I  did  it.  I  was 
hanging  on  them  with  my  whole  weight,  and 
they  broke  right  off.  I  did  not  think  they 
would  break,  or  I  should  not  have  done  it, 
and  I  am  very  sorry.'1 

Abe  had  not  forgotten  the  words  of  his 
own  mother,  "Be  truthful  and  honest." 


34  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


VII. 

HE  LOVES  TO  READ. 


There  were  many  wild  animals  in  Indiana 
at  that  time,  and  Abe  had  to  go  through 
the  dense  woods  alone,  where  bears  were 
frequently  seen.  But  it  would  have  taken 
more  than  bears  to  keep  him  away  from 
school.  He  wanted  to  learn.  There  were 
many  things  he  wanted  to  know. 

But  Abe's  school  days  were  soon  over. 
His  father  thought  he  was  losing  too  much 
time.  However,  Abe  was  determined  to 
continue  studying.  As  soon  as  his  day's 
work  was  done,  he  began  his  lessons.  He 
read,  wrote,  and  ciphered.  His  loving 
mother  encouraged  him  by  allowing  him  to 
use  all  the  books  she  had,  borrowing  others, 


HE  LOVES  TO  READ. 


A  LEAF  FROM  ABE'S  EXERCISE  BOOK. 

and  buying  the  life  of  Henry  Clay  for  him. 
The  Bible,  ^Esop's  Fables,  Robinson  Cru- 
soe, The  Pilgrim's  Progress,  a  History  of 


36  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

. 

the  United  States,  and  the  lives  of  Wash- 
ington and  Franklin  soon  became  familiar 
to  him.  He  loved  to  read,  and  he  was  so 
very  anxious  to  procure  other  books  that  he 
borrowed  from  any  neighbor  who  would 
lend.  Weems'  Life  of  Washington  had 
been  loaned  to  him  by  Mr.  Crawford,  his 
former  teacher. 

Before  he  had  finished  reading  this  book 
he  left  it  in  a  window  one  day,  when  a  rain- 
storm coming  on  the  book  was  so  thoroughly 
wet  as  to  spoil  it.  Abraham  was  greatly 
pained  by  the  accident.  His  honest  heart 
would  not  allow  Mr.  Crawford  to  lose  by  his 
thoughtlessness,  and  he  went  to  him,  showed 
him  the  ruined  volume  and  said,  "This  has 
happened  through  my  neglect.  I  have  not 
enough  money  to  pay  you  for  the  book,  but 
will  'work  out'  its  value." 

"Well,  Abe,"  said  Mr.  Crawford,  after 
thinking  a  little  while,  "as  it's  you  I  won't  be 


HE  LOVES  TO  READ.  37 

hard  on  you.      Come  over  and  pull  fodder  for 
two  days  and  we  will  call  our  account  even." 

It  was  in  this  life  of  Washington  that 
young  Abraham  Lincoln  first  began  to 
study  the  history  of  American  independence. 
He  was  young,  but  very  thoughtful,  for  he 
afterwards  spoke  of  the  impression  it  made 
on  him.  Once  when  speaking  to  the  Senate 
of  New  Jersey  of  the  battle  of  Trenton,  he 
said,  '  'I  recollect  thinking  then,  boy  though 
I  was,  that  there  must  have  been  some- 
thing more  than  common  that  those  men 
struggled  for." 

Much  as  Abe  loved  to  read  of  battles, 
and  of  the  lives  of  great  men,  he  was  not 
satisfied  with  what  he  could  learn  from  these 
alone.  He  used  to  write  and  "do  sums"  in 
arithmetic  on  the  wooden  shovel  by  the  fire- 
side. When  he  covered  it  with  letters  or 
figures,  he  shaved  off  the  surface  and  began 
again. 


38  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

Although  he  was  fond  of  his  books,  he 
liked  to  play  as  well,  and  was  a  leader  in 
all  out-door  sports.  He  loved  to  swim,  hunt, 
jump,  run  races,  box,  and  could  throw  every 
boy  in  the  neighborhood;  besides,  he  must 
have  been  what  our  boys  call  a  "good  shot. " 
One  day  when  he  was  only  a  little  boy,  he 
was  sitting  in  his  cabin  home  in  Indiana. 
He  saw  through  a  crack  in  the  log  walls  a 
flock  of  wild  turkeys.  He  at  once  took  down 
the  old  rifle,  put  the  long  barrel  through  the 
opening,  took  hasty  aim  and  fired.  When 
the  smoke  cleared  away,  he  walked  out  and 
picked  up  a  dead  turkey. 


HARD  WORK.  39 


VIII. 

HARD  WORK. 


It  was  not  long  after  this  that  he  took  a 
grist  upon  the  back  of  his  father's  horse  and 
went  to  a  mill  fifty  miles  away.  This  mill 
was  a  very  crude  one,  driven  by  horse  power. 
Each  boy  had  to  wait  his  "turn,"  no  matter 
how  far  he  was  from  home;  he  had  also  to 
use  his  own  horse  to  propel  the  machinery. 
When  Abe's  turn  came  he  hitched  his  mare 
to  the  lever.  He  was  following  her  closely 
upon  her  rounds,  and  urging  her  with  a 
switch,  when  suddenly,  just  as  he  was 
'  'clucking"  to  her,  she  gave  him  a  kick  which 
knocked  him  senseless.  The  moment  he 
became  conscious  he  finished  his  "cluck" 
and  went  on  with  his  work. 


40  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

From  the  time  Abraham  left  school,  until 
he  was  of  age,  his  father  let  him  out  to  the 
neighbors  for  any  job  that  was  offered. 
When  he  was  seventeen  he  was  earning  six 
dollars  a  month  and  his  board  and  lodging, 
but  his  father  got  all  the  money.  Some- 
times he  husked  corn,  at  other  times  he 
split  rails  or  slaughtered  hogs.  There  was 
no  easy  work.  Perhaps  it  might  have 
seemed  easier  to  Abe  if  he  could  have  kept 
some  of  his  own  earnings,  but  much  as  he 
longed  for  money  to  buy  books,  he  seemed 
never  to  have  complained  of  his  lot.  He 
must  have  disliked  the  constant  drudgery, 
as  he  was  ambitious  to  do  better  things. 

How  strange  it  seems  to  us  to  read  of  his 
gratitude  and  pride  when  he  earned  his  first 
dollar.  Long  afterward  when  he  was  Pres- 
ident, he  told  the  story  to  some  friends  at 
the  White  House. 

He  said,  "Seward,  you  never  heard,  did 


HARD  WORK.  41 

you,  how  I  earned  my  first  dollar?" 

"No,"  rejoined  Mr.  Seward. 

"You  know,'  continued  Mr.  Lincoln,  "I 
belong  to  what  they  call  'the  scrubs'  down 
South. 

"We  had  raised,  chiefly  by  my  labor,  suf- 
ficient produce,  as  I  thought,  to  justify  me 
in  taking  it  down  the  river  to  sell.  After 
much  persuasion,  I  got  the  consent  of  my 
mother  to  go.  I  constructed  a  little  flat 
boat  large  enough  to  take  a  barrel  or  two  of 
things  that  we  had  gathered,  down  to  the 
nearest  market.  We  had,  you  know,  no 
wharves  on  the  Western  streams;  and  the 
custom  was,  if  passengers  were  at  any  of 
the  landings,  for  them  to  go  out  in  a  boat, 
the  steamer  stopping  and  taking  them  on 
board. 

"I  was  contemplating  my  new  flat  boat, 
and  wondering  whether  I  could  make  it 
stronger,  or  improve  it  in  any  particular, 


42  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

when  two  men  came  down  to  the  shore  in 
carriages  with  trunks,  and  looking  at  the 
different  boats  singled  out  mine,  and  asked, 
'Who  owns  this?'  I  answered  somewhat 
modestly,  'I  do.'  'Will  you,'  said  one  of 
them,  'take  us  and  our  trunks  out  to  the 
steamer?'  'Certainly, '  said  I.  I  was  very 
glad  to  have  the  chance  of  earning  some- 
thing. I  supposed  that  each  of  them  would 
give  me  two  or  three  bits.  The  trunks  were 
put  on  my  flat  boat,  the  passengers  seated 
themselves  on  the  trunks,  and  I  sculled 
them  out  to  the  steamboat.  They  got  on 
board,  and  I  lifted  up  their  heavy  trunks, 
and  put  them  on  the  deck. 

"The  steamer  was  about  to  put  on  steam 
again,  when  I  called  out  that  they  had  for- 
gotten to  pay  me.  Each  of  them  took  from 
his  pocket  a  silver  half-dollar,  and  threw  it 
on  the  floor  of  my  boat.  I  could  scarcely  be- 
lieve my  eyes  as  I  picked  up  the  money. 


HARD  WORK.  43 

4 'Gentlemen,  you  may  think  it  was  a  very 
little  thing,  and  in  these  days  it  seems  to 
me  a  trifle,  but  it  was  a  most  important 
incident  in  my  life.  I  could  hardly  believe 
that  I,  a  poor  boy,  had  earned  a  dollar  in 
so  short  a  time  by  honest  work.  The 
world  seemed  kinder  and  fairer  before  me. 
I  was  a  more  hopeful  and  confident  being 
from  that  time." 


44  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


IX. 

IN  ILLINOIS. 


When  Abe  was  nearly  twenty-one  years 
old,  his  father  concluded  to  move  to  Illinois. 
He  thought  his  poverty  was  due  to  his  sur- 
roundings, and  believed  he  could  do  better 
in  another  state.  In  February,  he  and  his 
family,  with  their  scanty  household  goods, 
began  a  journey  which  lasted  fourteen  days. 
Finally  they  stopped  at  a  bluff  on  the  San- 
gamon,  a  stream  which  flows  into  the  Illinois 
river.  Here  Thomas  Lincoln,  with  an  ax, 
saw,  and  knife,  built  a  rough  cabin  of  hewed 
logs,  a  smokehouse,  and  a  stable.  It  was 
now  almost  time  for  Abe  to  start  out  in  life 
for  himself,  but  before  he  went,  he,  with 
the  aid  of  John  Hanks,  cleared  fifteen  acres 


IN  ILLINOIS.  45 

of  land,  split  rails  and  fenced  it  in,  planted 
it  with  corn  and  gave  it  to  his  father  as  the 
last  work  of  his  boyhood. 

After  he  left  home,   his  life  at  first   did 

* 

not  change  much  from  what  it  had  been 
when  he  worked  for  his  father.  He  did  any 
job  he  could  find.  He  split  four  hundred 
rails  for  Mrs.  Nancy  Miller  "for  every  yard 
of  brown  jeans,  dyed  with  white  walnut 
bark,  that  would  be  necessary  to  make  him 
a  pair  of  trousers." 

After  this  job  was  completed  he  met  a 
man  named  Offutt,  who  asked  him  and  two 
other  young  men  to  take  a  cargo  of  hogs, 
pork,  and  corn  to  New  Orleans.  The  three 
men  were  to  have  each  fifty  cents  a  day, 
and  sixty  dollars  to  divide  equally  among 
them  at  the  end  of  the  journey.  Abe  and 
his  two  companions  accepted  the  offer,  and 
started  on  their  long  journey  down  the 
Mississippi.  They  met  many  hardy  planters 


46 


THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


and  other  raftsmen,    with    whom  they  ex- 
changed   stories  around  the  evening  camp 

fire. 

As  the  three  men  went  farther  and  farther 

• 

down  the  Mississippi,  the  songs  of  the  slaves 
could  be  heard  as  they  returned  from  their 


OFFUTT'S  MILL   AT   SAl^EM. 


work.  The  plaintive  melodies  touched  Mr. 
Lincoln  deeply.  He  said  to  himself,  "Poor 
souls,  their  bondage  is  told  in  their  songs." 
When  he  arrived  at  one  city  on  the  route, 
he  saw  some  colored  people  in  chains  wait- 
ing to  be  sold.  His  eye  flashing  with  in- 
dignation he  exclaimed,  "If  ever  I  get  a 


IN  ILLINOIS.  47 

chance  to  hit  that  thing  (meaning  slavery), 
I'll  hit  it  hard.'  He  then  made  up  his  mind 
to  help  the  colored  race  if  he  ever  had  the 
opportunity. 

At  last,  New  Orleans  was  reached.  *  'There 
the  young  men  sold  the  boat  and  its  load;" 
after  which  they  started  on  their  long  tramp 
home.  When  Lincoln  reached  New  Salem, 
Mr.  Offutt  offered  him  a  clerkship  in  his 
store.  He  accepted,  and  while  staying  in 
.the  neighborhood  met  Jack  Armstrong,  whose 
family  was  afterward  very  kind  to  him.  Jack 
himself,  until  Abraham  Lincoln  came  into 
the  neighborhood,  had  been  the  champion 
athlete  of  the  community.  He  did  not  be- 
lieve that  any  man  was  stronger  or  more 
active  than  himself,  but  one  day  a  champion 
match  was  arranged  in  which  Abraham  Lin- 
coln came  off  victor.  Jack  admired  the  skill 
and  strength  of  his  opponent  so  much  that 
they  were  warm  friends  ever  afterward. 


48  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

As  you  know,  Abraham  was  always  anx- 
ious to  secure  any  book.  At  this  time  he 
desired,  especially,  an  English  grammar. 
Having  sought  one  in  the  neighborhood  in 
vain,  he  heard  of  one  six  miles  away.  The 
next  morning  he  got  up  early,  walked  over 
and  borrowed  it.  He  studied  every  page  in 
it  and  soon  knew  it  almost  by  heart.  Per- 
haps it  was  during  the  time  he  was  studying 
the  grammar  and  committing  rules  that  he 
charged  the  woman  more  than  was  due  for 
her  goods. 

You  have,  no  doubt,  read  the  story  of  how 
one  day,  when  he  was  busy,  a  woman  came 
in  to  make  some  purchases,  and  he,  through 
mistake,  charged  her  six  and  one-fourth 
cents  too  much.  He  did  not  discover  the 
error  until  she  had  gone  home.  He  was 
very  sorry  and  was  eager  for  night  to  come 
that  he  might  have  time  to  return  the  money. 
The  moment  he  closed  the  store  he  started 


IN  ILLINOIS.  49 

out  on  a  journey  of  six  miles  to  give  the 
woman  what  was  due  her.  He  was  no 
doubt  very  tired  on  his  return  home,  but  do 
you  not  believe  he  slept  the  more  soundly 
for  having  been  honest?  Honesty  was  his 
watchword. 

Before  the  end  of  the  year  Mr.  Offutt 
failed  in  business  and  Abraham  was  left 
without  employment. 


50  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


X. 

A  LOOK  AT  THE  COUNTRY. 


Suppose  we  take  a  look  at  the  country, 
and  leave  Abe  to  seek  work.  The  settlers 
knew  nothing,  by  experience,  of  comfortable 
homes,  of  plenty  of  books,  of  handsome 
clothes.  Their  only  social  gatherings  were 
horse  racings,  corn  shuckings,  political  meet- 
ings, quiltings,  weddings,  log-rollings  where 
the  neighbors  gathered  to  collect  the  logs  of 
a  newly-cleared  lot  for  burning,  or  at  a  house- 
raising  where  a  cabin  was  set  up  for  a  new 
comer.  Once  in  a  long  time  a  dance  was 
given.  Men  and  women  danced  barefoot 
They  could  not  do  any  better,  for  their  boots 
and  shoes  were  likely  to  be  home-made. 
The  boys  and  girls  who  were  born  in  the 


A  LOOK  AT  THE  COUNTRY.  51 

settlement,  like  Abraham  Lincoln,  had  no 
idea  of  better  times,  but  the  people  helped 
each  other  with  a  generous  kindliness  of 
which  our  grandfathers  boast  today. 

When  Abe  was  growing  to  manhood  the 
hunting  shirt  and  leggings  made  of  skins 
were  considered  a  fashionable  garb.  A 
young  lover  who  could  wear  buck  skin 
breeches,  dyed  green,  was  sure  to  captivate 
the  hearts  of  the  girls.  By  the  time,  how- 
ever, that  Abe  was  grown,  jeans  pants  were 
fashionable,  and  the  girls  wore  dresses  of 
home-spun  linsey,  dyed  with  butternut  hulls. 
The  houses  were  mostly  '  'half-faced  camps, " 
open  upon  one  side  to  the  weather,  but  some 
of  the  settlers  had  cabins  without  doors, 
floors,  or  windows.  Others  a  little  more 
wealthy,  had  greased  paper  windows  and 
puncheon  floors.  At  one  corner  the  bed 
was  made  by  driving  crotched  sticks  into 
the  ground,  from  which  poles  extended  to 


52  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

the  crevices  of  the  walls.  Boards  were  laid 
on  these  poles,  then  leaves,  skins,  and  bed- 
clothing  covered  the  boards. 

Three-legged  stools  and  tables  were  hewn 
from  trees.  This  was  done  with  an  ax, 
which  the  owner  often  walked  miles  to 
sharpen.  When  a  girl  wanted  a  mirror,  she 
scoured  a  tin  pan.  The  women  washed  their 
clothes  in  troughs.  Men  plowed  the  ground 
with  wooden  plows. 

There  was  scarcely  any  money  in  use,  but 
people  exchanged  one  kind  of  goods  for 
another.  The  village  groceries  were  meet- 
ing places  for  the  men  from  miles  around. 
There  the  stories  were  told  and  laughed  at. 
There  the  political  discussions  arose,  and 
there  sometimes  fights  took  place.  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  always  the  center  of  an  admir- 
ing group  at  such  times.  He  was  witty, 
good-natured,  and  had  a  never  ending  fund 
of  bright  stories.  All  these  things  made 


A  LOOK  AT  THE  COUNTRY.  53 

him  a  favorite  with  the  common  people.  He 
became  interested  in  them  and  understood 
how  to  please  them. 

Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  those  early 
times  the  people,  as  a  rule,  were  honest,  as 
the  following  story  will  show:  A  man  left 
his  wagon  load  of  corn  stuck  in  the  prairie 
mud  for  two  weeks.  The  road  in  which  the 
wagon  stood  was  traveled  over  frequently. 
When  he  returned  to  get  his  wagon,  some  of 
his  corn  was  gone,  but  on  opening  the  sacks, 
he  found  money  enough  to  pay  for  what 
had  been  taken.  If  any  one  did  steal  any- 
thing, and  the  people  found  it  out,  the  thief 
and  his  family  had  to  leave  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

It  must  seem  strange  to  you  to  hear  how 
they  conducted  court  in  Lincoln's  district 
at  that  time.  During  the  morning  the  men 
gathered.  ''Boys,  come  in,  our  John  is  going 
to  hold  court, "  the  sheriff  would  say.  The 


54  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

men  then  entered  the  tavern  or  log  cabin 
and  took  seats  beside  the  judge  on  the  bed. 
The  judge  would  hear  the  evidence  and  soon 
turn  the  case  over  to  the  jurors,  who  pro- 
nounced judgment  upon  the  case. 

All  this  was  true  during  Lincoln's  boy- 
hood; but  a  few  years  later,  instead  of  the 
log  cabins  in  the  villages,  two-story  frame 
houses,  comfortably  furnished  and  with  some 
well-filled  book  shelves,  became  more  com- 
mon. 

During  those  few  years  Illinois  had  im- 
proved so  rapidly  that  all  modes  of  life  were 
different.  Men  of  more  ability  and  fortune 
had  sought  homes  in  the  great  West,  and 
brought  civilization  with  them. 


THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR.  55 


XI. 

THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR. 


Perhaps  you  would  like  to  hear  something 
of  the  Indians  who  lived  near  these  settlers. 

There  is  little  to  tell,  since  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Illinois  were  seldom  troubled  with 
the  Indians,  as  were  the  early  settlers  of 
other  states.  Sometimes  a  woman  alone 
in  her  cabin  was  frightened  by  the  appear- 
ance of  an  Indian;  at  other  times  poultry  or 
pigs  disappeared,  and  the  settlers  knew 
that  some  red  man  made  way  with  them. 
But  few  people  were  ever  hurt  or  killed. 

It  is  said  that  one  day  a  great  chief  in  his 
paint  and  feathers  came  to  a  family  who 
were  clearing  a  piece  of  timber,  and  said, 
"Too  much  come  white  man  t'other  side 


56  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

Sangamon. "  He  threw  a  handful  of  dried 
leaves  in  the  air  to  show  how  he  would 
scatter  the  pale  faces,  but  he  never  kept  his 
word.  He  came  into  the  villages  some- 
times, but  only  to  ask  for  a  drink.  But 
there  was  one  tribe  that  still  gave  trouble. 
The  name  of  their  leader  was  Black  Hawk. 
In  1832  Governor  Reynolds  issued  his  call 
for  volunteers  to  move  the  tribe  of  Black 
Hawk  across  the  Mississippi.  For  years 
the  Rock  Island  neighborhood  had  been 
kept  in  terror  by  raids  of  this  Indian  chief. 
Among  the  first  to  volunteer  was  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  who  was  twenty-three  years 
old.  Then  it  was  that  his  companions 
showed  their  appreciation  of  him  as  a 
leader.  He  was  much  surprised  when  they 
chose  him  as  their  captain.  Some  one  sug- 
gested an  election,  and  immediately  three- 
fourths  of  the  men  walked  over  and  stood 
in  pairs  behind  him.  This  was  their  plan 


BLACK  HAWK. 


58  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

of  voting.  Later  in  life  he  said  he  appre- 
ciated this  unsought  honor  more  than  any 
ever  conferred  upon  him.  It  was  his  start 
in  life. 

His  company  immediately  marched  to 
join  its  regiment.  When  the  company  had 
been  on  the  march  three  days  they  came  to 
the  Henderson  river,  "a  stream  some  fifty 
yards  wide,  swift,  and  swollen  with  the 
spring  thaws.'1  The  banks  were  both  high 
and  steep.  Many  armies  would  have  turned 
back,  or  waited  for  the  river  to  fall,  but 
those  back-woodsmen  went  to  work  like 
beavers,  and  in  less  than  three  hours  the 
river  was  crossed,  with  the  loss  of  only  one 
team  of  horses  and  a  wagon. 

When  they  came  to  Yellow  Banks  on  the 
Mississippi,  the  provision  boat  had  not 
arrived,  and  they  waited  for  three  days 
without  food- -Governor  Reynolds  with  the 
others.  When  the  boat  arrived  with  sup- 


THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR.  59 

plies,  Governor  Reynolds  thought  it  was  the 
most  beautiful  boat  he  had  ever  seen. 

The  war  did  not  last  long,  yet  there  is  one 
very  interesting  story  connected  with  it. 
Black  Hawk,  the  Chief,  was  taken  cap- 
tive and  carried  in  triumph  to  President 
Jackson,  in  Washington.  This  is  what  he 
said  to  the  President:  "I  am  a  man,  you 
are  another:  I  did  not  expect  to  conquer 
the  white  people.  I  took  up  the  hatchet  to 
avenge  injuries  which  could  no  longer  be 
borne.  Had  I  borne  them  longer  my  peo- 
ple would  have  said:  'Black  Hawk  is  a 
squaw;  he  is  too  old  to  be  a  chief;  he  is  no 
Sac.'  I  say  no  more;  all  is  known  to  you." 
He  was  returned  to  Iowa,  and  died  a  few 
years  later  at  his  camp  in  Des  Moines.  His 
people  buried  him  in  gala  dress  with  cocked 
hat  and  sword,  and  the  medals  presented  to 
him  by  two  governments. 

One  June  morning,  only  a  short  time  after 


60  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

Lincoln  had  enlisted  as  a  soldier,  he  was  mus- 
tered out,  the  war  being  over.  He  and  a 
friend  named  Harrison  started  to  walk  to 
New  Salem  from  White  Water,  Wisconsin, 
a  distance  of  over  two  hundred  miles.  Some 
soldiers  who  were  more  anxious  to  get  home 
had  taken  both  of  their  horses,  but  they 
started  off  merrily  on  foot  on  their  long 
journey. 

Mr.  Harrison  says  of  their  journey:  "When 
we  arrived  at  Peoria  we  bought  a  little 
canoe,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  made  an  oar  while 
I  bought  food  for  the  voyage.  There  was 
but  a  slight  current,  as  the  river  was  low,  so 
we  did  not  make  as  good  time  as  we  could 
have  made  with  our  legs  on  shore.  We 
used  to  let  our  boat  drift  all  night,  and  when 
we  awoke  in  the  morning  we  recognized  the 
surrounding  objects  of  the  evening  before. 
Thus  you  can  see  how  slowly  we  went,  but 
we  paddled  our  way  to  Pekin  where  we 


THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR.  61 

overtook  two  men  on  a  raft  of  sawlogs. 
They  invited  us  on  their  raft,  and  prepared 
breakfast  for  us.  Abe  certainly  relished  the 
feast  of  fish,  bread,  butter,  eggs,  and  coffee, 
and  we  both  ate  more  than  was  good  for  us, 
this  being  our  first  warm  meal  for  several 
days.  When  we  had  finished  breakfast  we 
went  back  to  our  canoe,  and  after  some  time 
reached  Havana,  where  we  sold  our  boat 
and  started  on  our  walk  home.  It  was  not 
easy  walking  in  the  loose  sand.  Lincoln 
made  long  stides  and  slipped  back  six  inches 
every  step.  These  steps  just  fitted  me,  and 
he  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  my  walking  in  his 
tracks  to  keep  from  slipping." 


62  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


XII. 

CANDIDATE  FOR  THE  LEGISLATURE.- 

Mr.  Lincoln  arrived  in  New  Salem  only 
ten  days  before  the  August  election.  In 
this  election  he  was  deeply  interested,  for 
before  he  had  enlisted  as  a  soldier,  he  had 
announced  himself  as  a  candidate  for  the 
legislature.  For  some  time  he  had  been 
practicing  public  speaking,  and  had  learned 
to  think  on  his  feet.  In  fact,  he  had  been 
making  speeches  ever  since  he  was  a  boy. 
Some  of  the  old  farmers,  for  whom  he  worked, 
used  to  tell  how  they  had  been  annoyed  at 
finding  their  men  listening  to  Abe's  speeches 
instead  of  harvesting  the  grain. 

One  day  Mr.  Posey,  a  candidate  for  the 
legislature,  made  a  speech  in  Macon.  John 


CANDIDATE  FOR  THE  LEGISLATURE.      63 

Hanks,  a  cousin  of  Lincoln's,  said,  ''Abe 
can  beat  that.''  He  turned  a  keg  on  end, 
Abe  mounted  it  and  made  his  speech,  and 
it  was  said  by  those  who  heard  him  that 
"Abe  did  beat  it  to  death." 

It  is  also  told  of  him  that  when  he  was 
about  sixteen  years  old  he  walked  fifteen 
miles  to  a  trial  at  Booneville.  This  was  his 
first  experience  in  court,  and  he  was  in- 
tensely interested  in  everything  that  took 
place.  When  the  famous  lawyer,  Mr.  Breck- 
inridge,  began  pleading  in  defense  of  his 
client,  the  boy  was  simply  carried  beyond 
himself. 

The  moment  the  eminent  man  concluded 
his  speech,  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  poorly 
dressed,  barefooted  country  lad  walked 
across  the  court  room,  clasped  the  hands  of 
the  lawyer  and  exclaimed:  "That  was  the 
greatest  speech  I  ever  heard. ';  Little,  per- 
haps, did  the  great  Mr.  Breckinridge  imagine 


04  THE  STORY  OP  LINCOLN. 

that  he  had  awakened  the  fire  of  ambition 
and  patriotism  in  this  boy's  heart,  that  would 
lead  to  his  election  to  the  greatest  office  in 
the  gift  of  a  nation.  But  it  was  true,  for 
from  that  day  on,  Abraham  Lincoln  believed 
he  would  become  president  of  the  United 
States. 

Just  ten  days  before  the  election  day, 
Abraham  Lincoln  began  his  canvass  for  a 
seat  in  the  state  legislature.  The  circular 
letter  in  which  he  announced  himself  con- 
tained these  words:  "I  am  young,  and  un- 
known to  many  of  you.  I  was  born,  and 
have  ever  remained  in  the  humble  walks  of 
life.  I  have  no  wealthy  or  powerful  rela- 
tions to  recommend  me."  He  added  that 
he  appealed  to  the  independent  voters  of 
the  country,  and  if  they  elected  him  they 
would  confer  a  favor  upon  him  for  which  he 
would  labor  unremittingly  to  repay  them. 

In  those  days  it  was  the  practice  for  rival 


CANDIDATE  FOR  THE  LEGISLATURE.      65 

candidates  to  meet  and  make  speeches,  that 
the  people  might  judge  of  their  ability. 
Mr.  Lincoln's  first  campaign  speech  was 
made  at  Pappsville.  You  will  be  interested 
to  hear  what  he  said:  "I  presume  you  all 
know  who  I  am.  I  am  humble  Abraham 
Lincoln.  I  have  been  solicited  by  my 
friends  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  legis- 
lature. My  politics  are  short  and  sweet.  I 
am  in  favor  of  a  national  bank,  am  in  favor 
of  the  internal  improvement  system,  and 
of  a  high  protective  tariff.  These  are  my 
sentiments  and  political  principles.  If 
elected,  I  shall  be  thankful;  if  not,  it  will 
be  all  the  same.' 

Springfield  was  then  the  center  of  all 
political  conflicts,  and  a  few  days  after  the 
speech,  quoted  above,  he  made  a  better  one 
there,  which  impressed  the  people  favor- 
ably, but  at  the  election  he  was  defeated. 


66  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


XIII. 

SURVEYOR,  POSTMASTER,  AND  LAWYER. 


After  his  defeat,  Lincoln,  with  a  man 
named  Berry,  opened  a  country  store.  This 
business  was  a  failure.  Berry  died,  leaving 
a  debt  which  Lincoln  worked  hard  for  years 
to  pay.  His  sense  of  honor  compelled  him 
to  pay  this  debt,  although  it  could  not  have 
been  collected  legally. 

During  the  days  when  he  was  merchant 
he  began  to  read  law  from  books  borrowed 
from  Major  Stuart,  a  friend  he  had  made  at 
Springfield.  He  used  to  lie  on  his  back 
under  a  big  oak  tree  poring  over  these 
books.  Some  one  describes  him  with  his 
feet  resting  on  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  his 


SURVEYOR,  POSTMASTER,  LAWYER.      67 

long,  gaunt  figure,'  habited  in  homespun, 
stretched  to  its  full  length  on  the  grass. 

Having  determined  to  become  a  good 
lawyer,  he  never  lost  a  moment  that  he 
could  spend  in  profitable  study.  He  bought 
a  second-hand  copy  of  Blackstone's  Com- 
mentaries, and  mastered  it  in  a  few  months. 
He  often  walked  to  Springfield,  a  distance 
of  fourteen  miles,  to  borrow  some  book, 
which  he  studied  all  the  way  home.  It  was 
not  many  months  before  he  began  to  prac- 
tice law  before  country  juries;  but  in  spite 
of  his  economy  and  industry  he  found  it 
difficult  to  earn  sufficient  money  to  pay  for 
his  board  and  clothes. 

He  now  turned  to  a  different  occupation 
in  order  to  support  himself  until  his  law 
practice  grew.  He  had,  before  moving  to 
Illinois,  learned  a  little  about  surveying. 
He  now  began  to  study  again  and,  without 
any  teacher,  he  learned  enough  from  a  book 


68  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

in  six  weeks  to  become  so  expert  as  to 
be  chosen  deputy  surveyor  of  Sangamon 
county,  and  it  is  said  that  he  used  a  grape- 
vine for  a  chain. 

About  this  time  he  was  appointed  post- 
master of  New  Salem.  He  accepted  this 
office  because  it  afforded  an  opportunity  to 
study,  and  he  read  eagerly  every  paper  that 
came  to  the  office.  He  carried  the  mail  in 
his  hat,  and  whenever  he  met  a  person  for 
whom  he  had  a  letter,  stopped  and  gave  it 
to  him.  He  kept  the  office  until  New  Salem 
ceased  to  be  a  post  station.  Years  after,  he 
was  called  on  by  an  agent  of  the  government 
with  a  bill  for  seventeen  dollars,  the  balance 
due  from  the  New  Salem  office.  Abraham 
Lincoln  had  known  long  years  of  pinching 
poverty  since  the  postoffice  had  closed,  and 
his  friends  present,  being  afraid  that  he  had 
been  obliged  to  use  the  money,  began  to 
search  for  their  pocketbooks  to  loan  him 


SURVEYOR,  POSTMASTER,  LAWYER.      69 

what  was  needed.  He  thought  a  moment, 
walked  to  the  corner,  unlocked  a  little  trunk, 
took  out  an  old  cotton  handkerchief,  and  in 
this  was  rolled  up  seventeen  dollars  which 
he  handed  to  the  agent,  saying,  ''Here  it  is;  ;  , 
I  never  use  any  man's  money  but  my  own. " 


70  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


XIV. 

LINCOLN  AS  LEGISLATOR, 


You  remember  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  de- 
feated the  first  time  he  was  a  candidate  for 
the  legislature.  Two  years  rolled  round  and 
the  time  came  to  elect  another  legislator 
in  Sangamon  county.  His  friends  asked 
Lincoln  again  to  be  their  candidate.  He 
did  so,  and  was  elected. 

It  was  a  proud  moment  for  this  sturdy 
young  man  from  the  backwoods;  this  first 
political  victory.  It  was  no  small  honor. 
He  began  to  realize  that  all  his  years  of 
honesty,  toil,  self-sacrifice,  and  ambition 
really  counted  for  something.  In  spite  of 
his  poverty  and  lack  of  advantages  he  would 
yet  make  for  himself  a  noble  career. 


LINCOLN  AS  LEGISLATOR.  71 

His  election  to  the  legislature  opened  a 
new  life  for  him.  At  Vandalia,  where  the 
General  Assembly  then  met,  he  associated 
with  more  intelligent  men,  and  became  ac- 
quainted with  better  forms  of  society  than 
he  had  ever  known. 

Although  he  was  very  awkward,  and  ex- 
tremely homely,  his  kindness,  unselfishness, 
and  modesty  won  him  friends  and  position 
in  the  best  society  of  the  capital.  He,  like 
other  members  of  the  legislature,  wore  a 
decent  suit  of  blue  jeans;  and  was  rather  a 
quiet  young  man,  good  natured  and  sensi- 
ble. Among  the  first  persons  he  met  there 
was  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  Before  the  winter 
was  over  his  strong  common  sense  made  a 
marked  impression,  and  his  honesty  and 
faithfulness  won  the  loyal  support  of  his  con- 
stituents, who  re-elected  him  for  a  second 
term. 

When  he  announced  himself  for  the  sec- 


72  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

ond  term  he  expressed  his  views  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter:  "I  go  for  all  sharing  the 
privileges  of  the  government,  who  assist  in 
bearing  its  burdens.  Consequently  I  am 
for  admitting  all  whites  to  the  right  of  suf- 
frage who  pay  taxes  or  bear  arms  (by  no 
means  excluding  females)."  He  was  elected 
by  the  Whigs,  and  served  his  county  faith- 
fully as  he  had  promised. 

On  his  return  to  his  home,  a  dinner  was 
given  in  his  honor.  This  was  one  of  the 
toasts  offered:  " Abraham  Lincoln,  one  of 
nature's  noblemen.' 

One  of  the  most  important  questions  be- 
fore the  assembly  during  Mr.  Lincoln's  sec- 
ond term  was  the  removal  of  the  capital 
from  Vandalia  to  Springfield.  Mr.  Lincoln 
used  his  influence  and  helped  to  secure  it 
for  the  latter  place.  This  so  pleased  the 
people  of  Springfield  that  they  urged  him  to 
make  his  future  home  there.  He  accepted 


LINCOLN  AS  LEGISLATOR.  73 

the  invitation,  and  became  the  law  partner 
of  his  old  friend,  John  T.  Stuart. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
for  the  third  time  directly  after  he  moved  to 
his  new  home,  and  was  re-elected  every 
term  until  after  the  memorable  log-cabin 
campaign  when  William  Henry  Harrison 
was  elected  president.  This  was  called  the 
log-cabin  campaign  because  General  Harri- 
son had  once  lived  in  one,  and  his  opponents 
had  made  fun  of  his  poverty. 


74  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


XV. 

HARRISON  ELECTED  PRESIDENT. 


The  whole  nation  was  wildly  excited.  At 
every  voting  precinct  a  log-cabin  was  seen. 
The  Harrison  men  hung  a  gourd  on  one  side 
of  the  door  and  a  coon-skin  on  the  other. 
This  pleased  the  common  people  and  the 
old  settlers. 

Abraham  Lincoln  began  making  speeches 
for  Harrison,  and  threw  his  powerful  energy 
and  zeal  into  the  campaign.  On  the  oppos- 
ing side  was  a  young  lawyer  known  as  '  'The 
Little  Giant, "whose  real  name  was  Stephen 
A.  Douglas.  These  two  young  lawyers  met 
in  joint  debate,  and  those  who  heard  them 
say  no  more  interesting  political  speeches 
were  ever  made.  Everybody  admired  the 


HARRISON  ELECTED  PRESIDENT.         75 

cleverness  of  these  two  gifted  young  speakers, 
and  scarcely  any  one-  was  able  to  say  which 
was  the  brighter  man.  It  must  have  been  a 
pleasure  for  Mr.  Lincoln  to  have  General 
Harrison  elected,  even  though  Illinois  did 
not  cast  her  vote  for  him. 

Soon  after  he  went  to  live  at  Springfield, 
he  had  an  opportunity  to  befriend  a  family 
who  had  once  kindly  offered  him  a  home  for 
the  winter.  The  name  of  the  family  was 
Armstrong.  You  have  not  forgotten  Jack 
Armstrong,  the  champion  athlete.  It  was 
at  his  home  that  Abe  had  spent  the  winter 
after  he  lost  every  thing  in  the  store.  Jack 
had  never  been  a  good  boy,  and  now  word 
came  to  Mr.  Lincoln  that  his  old  friend  had 
been  charged  with  murder.  Mr.  Lincoln 
could  not  believe  he  was  guilty.  Jack's 
mother,  who  was  now  a  widow,  did  not  be- 
lieve it  either,  but  she  was  poor,  and  was 
not  able  to  employ  a  lawyer  to  defend  her 


76  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

son.    She  was  in  despair.     But  one  day  her 
heart  was  made  glad  by  the  following  letter: 

"SPRINGFIELD,  ILL.,  Sept.  18,  18 — . 
Dear  Mrs.  Armstrong: 

I  have  just  heard  of  your  deep  affliction,  and 
the  arrest  of  your  son  for  murder.  I  cannot  be- 
lieve he  can  be  guilty  of  the  crime  alleged 
against  him.  It  does  not  seem  possible.  I  am 
anxious  that  he  should  have  a  fair  trial,  at  any 
rate,  and  gratitude  for  your  long  continued 
kindness  to  me  in  adverse  circumstances 
prompts  me  to  offer  my  humble  services  gratu- 
itously in  his  behalf.  It  will  afford  me  an  op- 
portunity to  requite,  in  a  small  degree,  the 
favors  I  received  from  you  and  your  lamented 
husband,  when  your  roof  afforded  me  grateful 
shelter,  without  money  and  without  price. 

Yours  truly, 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN." 

Mr.  Lincoln  went  to  the  trial.  When  one 
of  the  witnesses  perjured  himself  by  testify- 
ing that  he  saw  the  murder  committed  by 
the  light  of  the  moon,  Mr.  Lincoln  proved  by 
the  almanac  that  the  moon  was  not  shining 
on  that  night.  Mr.  Lincoln  closed  his  speech 


HARRISON  ELECTED  PRESIDENT. 


77 


to  the  jury  in  these  words:  ''If  justice  is 
done,  as  I  believe  it  will  be,  before  the  sun 
shall  set  it  will  shine  upon  my  client  a  free 


man. 


THE  HOUSE  WHERE  LINCOLN  LIVED  AFTER  HIS 

MARRIAGE. 

The  jury  retired,  and  in  half  an  hour 
returned  with  the  verdict,  '  'Not  guilty. " 

As  soon  as  these  words  were  pronounced, 
Jack  Armstrong  rushed  to  Mr.  Lincoln, 
grasped  his  hand,  but  could  not  speak.  Mr. 


78  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

Lincoln  pointed  to  the  west  and  said,  "It  is 
not  yet  sundown,  and  you  are  free." 

Mr.  Lincoln  rose  rapidly  in  his  profession 
as  a  lawyer.  He  now  felt  able  to  have  a 
home  of  his  own.  The  lady  who  became 
his  wife  was  Miss  Mary  Todd,  daughter  of 
Hon.  Robert  S.  Todd,  of  Lexington,  Ky. 
The  wedding  occurred  on  the  4th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1842. 

Two  years  latter  he  was  elected  to  con- 
gress, and  on  the  first  Monday  in  March  of 
the  following  year  he  took  his  seat.  There 
he  met  again  his  former  opponent,  Stephen 
A.  Douglas.  He  met  many  other  men  of 
prominence,  among  whom  were  John  C. 
Calhoun,  Daniel  Webster,  and  Jefferson 
Davis.  One  very  notable  thing  which  he 
did  during  this  term  was  to  introduce  a  bill 
abolishing  the  slave  trade  in  Washington 
City. 


His  GREAT  DEBATE  WITH  DOUGLAS.   79 


XVI. 

His  GREAT  DEBATE  WITH  DOUGLAS. 


When  Mr.  Lincoln's  term  in  congress 
closed,  he  returned  to  Springfield,  where  he 
again  settled  down  to  the  practice  of  law. 
His  business  grew  rapidly  but  his  fees  were 
small,  and  he  seldom  made  more  than 
$2,000  a  year.  Five  years  passed  and 
again  Mr.  Lincoln  entered  public  life. 
Through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Douglas  a 
law  had  been  passed  admitting  Kansas  and 
Nebraska  as  slave  states  if  they  should 
adopt  a  constitution  favoring  it.  The  whole 
country  was  wild  with  excitement.  Of 
course  Abraham  Lincoln  opposed  the  bill 
with  all  his  strength.  He  went  before  the 
people  of  Illinois,  and  pleaded  with  them 


80  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

to  send  a  senator  to  congress  who  was 
opposed  to  the  further  extension  of  slavery. 

Stephen  A.  Douglas  was  a  candidate  for 
reelection  to  the  senate,  and  was  defending 
himself  for  having  used  his  influence  to  per- 
mit Kansas  to  become  a  slave  state. 

In  one  of  his  speeches  he  said,  "I  do  not 
care  whether  slavery  is  voted  into  or  out  of 
the  territories.  The  question  of  slavery  is 
one  of  climate.  Wherever  it  is  to  the  in- 
terest of  the  inhabitants  of  a  territory  to  have 
slave  property,  there  a  slave  law  will  b§ 
enacted." 

Mr.  Lincoln  understood  the  fallacy  of  this 
argument,  but  he  appreciated  the  shrewd- 
ness of  his  opponent.  He  knew  that  only 
truth  could  convince  the  people;  that  noth- 
ing either  of  them  could  say,  personally, 
unless  it  carried  with  it  the  force  of  truth, 
would  long  have  weight.  He  felt,  however, 
that  truth  and  right  were  on  his  side. 


His  GREAT  DEBATE  WITH  DOUGLAS.     81 

He  replied,  "The  men  who  signed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  said  that  all 
men  are  created  equal,  and  are  endowed  by 
their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights 
to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 
I  beseech  you,  do  not  destroy  that 
immortal  emblem  of  humanity,  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence." 

In  May,  1856,  a  convention  was  held  at 
Bloomington,  Illinois,  to  form  a  new  political 
party.  At  this  convention  Mr.  Lincoln  made 
a  speech  which  will  never  be  forgotten  by 
those  who  heard  it,  and  which  history  says 
was  one  of  the  greatest  speeches  ever  made. 
"Again  and  again,  during  its  delivery,  the 
audience  sprang  to  their  feet,  and,  by  long 
continued  cheers,  showed  how  deeply  the 
speaker  had  moved  them."  When  the  new 
party  was  formed  and  given  the  name  of  Re- 
publican Party,  it  was  natural  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln should  become  its  leader  in  Illinois. 


THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

The  two  great  political  parties  of  the 
United  States  were  then,  as  now,  known  as 
Democratic  and  Republican.  In  the  follow- 
ing election  the  Democratic  candidate,  Mr. 
Buchanan,  was  victorious. 

During  his  administration,  one  of  the  most 
interesting  senatorial  contests  ever  known  in 
Illinois  took  place.  The  choice  of  the  Re- 
publican party  was  Mr.  Lincoln;  his  oppo- 
nent, the  Democratic  candidate,  was  Mr. 
Douglas. 

It  was  decided  that  Lincoln  and  Douglas 
should  meet  in  joint  debate  at  different 
points  in  the  state.  Seven  towns  were  se- 
selected,  so  distributed  as  to  accommodate 
all  the  people.  The  Little  Giant,  as  Douglas 
was  called,  was  enthusiastically  followed  by 
his  friends  from  city  to  city.  Music,  ban- 
ners, fireworks,  dinners,  receptions  accom- 
panied every  engagement. 

Lincoln  conducted  a  splendid  campaign. 


His  GREAT  DEBATE  WITH  DOUGLAS.      83 

He  again  pleaded  for  justice,  liberty,  and 
peace..  Douglas  expected  to  be  a  candi- 
date for  the  presidency  in  1860,  and  made 
the  effort  of  his  life  in  these  speeches.  Lin- 
coln made  the  stronger  impression  upon 
the  people,  but  the  Democratic  party  being 
in  the  majority,  won  the  victory. 


84  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


XVII. 

His  NOMINATION  FOR  PRESIDENT. 


Before  the  Republican  convention,  held  in 
1860  to  nominate  a  president  for  the  United 
States,  there  were  a  number  of  political 
meetings  held  throughout  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois. At  one  of  these  in  Decatur,  John 
Hanks  entered  earring  two  rails  that  had 
been  made  by  Lincoln  "many  years  before. 
These  he  solemnly  presented  to  the  as- 
sembly. The  present  was  received  with 
roars  of  laughter  and  shouts  of  applause. 
The  same  rails  were  carried  to  the  Chicago 
convention.  The  ladies  decorated  them 
with  flowers  and  lighted  them  with  tapers. 
They  were  the  chief  ornaments  of  the  Illinois 
headquarters  during  that  exciting  week. 


His  NOMINATION  FOR  PRESIDENT.        85 

From  that  time  Mr.  Lincoln  was  called  the 
-Illinois  Rail  Splitter." 

On  May  16,  1860,  the  Republican  con- 
vention to  nominate  a  candidate  for  presi- 
dent was  held  in  Chicago.  That  was  just 
how  many  years  ago?  At  that  time  the  city 
had  only  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 

There  was  not  a  hall  in  the  city  large 
enough  to  hold  the  convention.  An  enor- 
mous structure  called  "The  Wigwam"  was 
built.  On  the  third  day,  Mr.  Lincoln's 
name  was  presented  with  the  names  of 
other  candidates  It  was  a  day  of  intense 
excitement  in  the  convention  and  through- 
out the  country. 

After  two  ballots  everybody  became  quiet. 

The  delegates  footed  up  their  own  col- 
umns as  the  roll  was  called. 

They  found  Abraham  Lincoln  needed  only 
one  and  one  half  votes  to  nominate  him. 
Suddenly  all  became  so  still  that  the 


86  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

pencil  scratches  could  be  easily  heard;  not  a 
fan  waved,  not  a  voice  was  audible.  Every- 
body leaned  forward  to  see  and  hear  what 
would  happen  next.  In  a  moment  David 
K.  Carter  sprang  upon  his  chair  and  shouted 
that  Ohio  would  give  Lincoln  four  more  votes. 
"Only  a  pause  of  a  second,  and  the  teller 
waved  his  tally  sheet  toward  the  skylight 
and  shouted  a  name.  The  boom  of  a  can- 
non on  the  roof  told  the  people  the  nomina- 
tion was  made.  Abraham  Lincoln's  name 
was  carried  with  the  speed  of  lightning  to 
every  part  of  the  great  Union.  The  dele- 
gates who  left  Chicago  that  night  soon 
learned  that  the  people  were  pleased  with 
the  work  they  had  done.  At  every  station 
there  were  tar  barrels  burning,  drums  beat- 
ing, boys  carrying  rails,  and  guns,  great 
and  small,  banging  away."  Throughout  the 
entire  campaign  rails  were  destined  to  play 
a  conspicuous  part. 


His  ELECTION.  87 


XVIII. 

His  ELECTION. 


The  period  following  the  nomination  was 
a  very  exciting  one;  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
was  Mr.  Lincoln's  opponent,  and  many  of 
the  ministers  in  Springfield,  Mr.  Lincoln's 
own  city,  were  reported  as  favoring  Mr. 
Douglas,  because  they  thought  Mr.  Lin- 
coln was  not  a  Christian.  When  he  heard 
this  he  uttered  these  noble  sentiments: 

"I   know  there   is   a  God,   and  that  He 
hates  injustice  and  slavery;   I  see  the  storm 
coming,  and  I  know  that  His  hand  is  in  it. . 
If  He  has  a  place  and  work  for  me — and  I 
think  he  has- -I  believe   I  am  ready.      I  am/ 
nothing,  but  truth  is  everything.      I  know  I 
am  right,  because  I  know  that  liberty  is  right, 


-- 


THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


for  Christ  teaches  it,  and  Christ  is  the  son  of 
God.  I  have  told  them  that  a  house  divided 
against  itself  cannot  stand,  and  Christ  and 
reason  say  the  same;  and  they  will  find  it 
so.  Douglas  does  not  care  whether  slavery 


* 

rVri  •     ' 


LINCOLN'S  SPRINGFIELD  HOME. 

is  voted  up  or  voted  down,  but  God  cares, 
and  humanity  cares,  and  I  care;  and  with 
God's  help  I  cannot  fail.  I  may  not  see  the 
end;  but  it  will  come,  and  I  shall  be  vindi- 


His  ELECTION.  89 

cated;  and  these  men  will  find  that  they 
have  not  read  their  bibles  aright." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  in  November, 
and  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March,  1861. 
He  left  his  home  in  Springfield  on  the  i  ith 
of  February. 

To  his  friends  and  neighbors  who  accom- 
panied him  to  the  station  he  said  good-bye 
in  the  following  words: 

"My  friends,  no  one  not  in  my  position 
can  appreciate  the  sadness  I  feel  at  this 
parting.  To  this  people  I  owe  all  that  I 
am.  Here  I  have  lived  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  here  my  children  were  born, 
and  here  one  of  them  lies  buried.  I  know 
not  how  soon  I  shall  see  you  again.  A  duty 
devolves  upon  me  which  is  perhaps  greater 
than  that  which  has  devolved  upon  any 
other  man  since  the  days  of  Washington. 
He  would  never  have  succeeded  except  by 
the  aid  of  Divine  Providence,  upon  which 


90  THE  STORY  OP  LINCOLN. 

\he  at  all  times  relied.      I  feel  that  I  cannot 
I 

succeed  without  the  same  Divine  aid  which 
sustained  him.  On  the  same  Almighty  Be- 
ing I  place  my  reliance  for  support,  and  I 
hope  you,  my  friends,  will  all  pray  that  I 
may  receive  that  Divine  assistance  without 
which  I  cannot  succeed,  but  with  which 
success  is  certain.  Again  I  bid  you  all  an 
\affectionate  farewell. ' 

Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  in  a  number  of  cities 
on  his  way  to  Washington. 

Everywhere  he  was  received  with  the 
greatest  enthusiasm.  But  there  were  many 
people  in  the  United  States  who  bitterly 
opposed  his  election,  and  some  had  deter- 
mined that  he  should  never  be  inaugurated. 
These  bitter  thoughts  led  to  the  formation 
of  a  party  to  assassinate  him  in  Baltimore 
as  he  passed  through  that  city.  Happily 
he  was  warned  of  the  danger,  changed 
his  route,  and  reached  Washington  in  safety. 


MR.  LINCOLN  AS  PRESIDENT.  91 


XIX. 

MR.  LINCOLN  AS  PRESIDENT. 


His  great  inaugural  address  as  president 
of  a  nation  divided  in  sentiment  and  pur- 
pose, closed  with  these  words: 

"If  it  were  admitted  that  you  who  are 
dissatisfied  hold  the  right  side  of  the  dis- 
pute, there  is  still  no  single  reason  for  pre- 
cipitate action.  Intelligence,  patriotism, 
Christianity,  and  a  firm  reliance  upon  Him 
who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this  favored 
land,  are  still  competent  to  adjust,  in  the 
best  way,  all  our  present  difficulties.  In 
your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow  country- 
men, and  not  in  mine,  is  the  momentous 
issue  of  civil  war.  The  government  will  not 
assail  you.  You  can  have  no  conflict  with- 


92  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

out  being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You 
have  no  oath  registered  in  Heaven  to  de- 
stroy the  government,  while  I  shall  have  the 
most  solemn  one  to  preserve,  protect,  and 
defend  it.  I  am  loth  to  close.  We  are  not 
enemies,  but  friends.  We  must  not  be  ene- 
mies. Though  passion  may  have  strained, 
it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of  affection. 
The  mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching 
from  every  battlefield  and  patriot  grave  to 
every  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over 
this  broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of 
the  Union,  when  again  touched,  as  surely 
they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our 
nature.' 

The  four  distressing  years  of  our  civil  war  ' 
followed.  We  will  not  dwell  upon  that  con- 
flict. The  President  made  every  endeavor 
to  restore  peace  and  preserve  the  Union, 
but  at  length  he  felt  the  only  way  to  gain 
these  ends  was  to  free  the  slaves.  Soon 


MR.  LINCOLN  AS  PRESIDENT.  93 

afterwards  he  issued  his  famous  proclama- 
tion which  liberated  them. 

In  1862  there  was  a  great  battle  fought 
at  Gettysburg,  where  many  soldiers  died  for 
the  Union.  The  people  of  Pennsylvania 
decided  to  give  the  battlefield  as  a  national 
burying  ground.  At  the  dedication  on  No- 
vember 19,  1863,  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  these 
grand  words.  They  will  live  forever  in  the 
hearts  of  American  citizens: 

PRESIDENT    LINCOLN'S    GETTYSBURG    SPEECH. 

1 

"Four  score  and  seven  years  ago,  our 
fathers  brought  forth  upon  this  continent  a 
new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are 
created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a 
great  civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation, 
or  any  nation  so  conceived  can  long  endure. 
We  are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that 
war.  We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion 
of  that  field  as  a  final  resting-place  for 


94  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

/those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that   that 
7  • 

nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting 
and  proper  that  we  should  do  this.  But 
in  a  larger  sense  we  cannot  dedicate,  we 
cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this 
ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead, 
who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far 
above  our  power  to  add  or  detract.  The 
world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember, 
what  we  say  here;  but  it  can  never  forget 
what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living, 
rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished 
work  which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus 
far  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to 
be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remain- 
ing before  us,  that  from  these  honored  dead 
we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for 
which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  de- 
votion; that  we  here  highly  resolve  that 
these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that 
this  nation  under  God,  shall  have  a  new 


MR.  LINCOLN  AS  PRESIDENT.  95 

birth  of  freedom,  and  that  the  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

At  the  close  of  his  first  term  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  reelected. 

Those  who  knew  him  then,  and  those  who 
have  studied  his  life  since,  were  not  surprised 
at  his  reelection.  People  cannot  fail  to  ap- 
preciate him  when  they  know  what  a  pure, 
generous,  noble-hearted  patriot  he  was. 

No  doubt  God  had  listened  to  the  prayers 
he  had  made  just  before  leaving  Springfield, 
and  had  given  him  strength  and  guidance 
through  these  four  awful  years.  His  second 
inaugural  address  was  the  most  perfect 
state  paper  ever  written.  It  closed  with 
these  words:  ''With  malice  toward  none, 
with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the 
right,  let  us  finish  the  work  we  are  engaged 
in,  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wound,  to  care 
for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and 


96  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

for  his  widow  and  his  orphans,  to  do  all  which 
may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  lasting 
peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations. " 
Although  we  cannot  record  half  his  noble 
deeds,  we  wish  to  give  you  some  of  the  inci- 
dents which  show  his  tenderness  and  love 
to  all  who  needed  it;  and  to  have  you  see 
that  he  really  had  "malice  toward  none  and 
charity  for  all." 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS.  97 


XX. 

STORIES  OF  MR.  LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS. 


A  poor  little  drummer  boy,  pale  and  deli- 
cate, and  only  thirteen  years  old,  came  one 
day  with  many  others  to  see  the  President. 
The  President  spied  the  little  fellow  in  the 
crowd  and  kindly  said,  "Come  here,  my  boy, 
and  tell  me  what  you  want."  The  child  went 
up  to  him  and  leaning  against  his  arm-chair 
said  timidly:  "I  have  been  a  drummer  boy 
two  years  in  one  regiment;  but  my  colonel 
got  angry  with  me  and  turned  me  off.  I  was 
taken  ill,  and  have  been  in  the  hospital  a 
long  while.  Today  is  the  first  time  I  have 
been  out,  and  I  have  come  to  ask  you  to  do 
something  for  me.' 


98  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

The  President  inquired  of  the  child  very 
kindly  where  he  lived.  "I  have  no  home; 
my  father  died  in  the  army,  and  my  mother, 
too,  is  dead,'  said  the  poor  boy,  bursting 
into  tears.  "I  have  no  father,  no  mother, 
no  brother,  no  sister,  no  home,  nowhere  to 
go;  nobody  cares  for  me,'  he  sobbed  in 
great  distress.  The  President's  eyes  were 
full  of  tears;  he  said,  tenderly,  "Can't  you 
sell  newspapers,  my  child?"  "No,"  replied 
the  boy,  "I  am  too  weak,  and  the  surgeon 
says  I  must  leave  the  hospital,  and  I  have 
no  money."  The  President  was  much  af- 
fected; he  did  not  speak,  but  he  took  a  card 
from  his  pocket  and  wrote  on  it  special 
directions  to  certain  officers  to  care  for  the 
poor  little  drummer  boy.  The  child's  pale 
face  lighted  up  with  a  joyous  and  grateful 
smile  when  he  received  the  card,  and  he 
felt  that  he  had  one  friend  in  the  world,  the 
good  President. 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS.  99 

One  afternoon,  a  Washington  correspond- 
ent went  into  the  President's  office  and 
found  him  counting  greenbacks. 

"This,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "is  out  of 
my  usual  line,  but  this  money  belongs  to  a 
poor  negro  who  is  a  porter  in  the  Treasury 
Department,  at  present  very  bad  with  the 
smallpox.  He  is  now  in  the  hospital,  and 
could  not  draw  his  pay,  because  he  could 
not  sign  his  name.  I  have  been  at  consid- 
erable trouble  to  overcome  the  difficulty  and 
get  it  for  him,  and  have  at  length  succeeded 
in  cutting  red  tape,  as  you  newspaper  men 
say.  I  am  now  dividing  the  money,  and 
putting  by  a  portion  in  an  envelope,  accord- 
ing to  his  wish." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  never  forgetful  of  any 
of  his  poor  relations.  He  helped  them  in 
every  way  he  could,  and  always  visited  them 
when  in  their  neighborhood.  On  one  occa- 
sion, when  urged  to  stay  with  a  party  of 


100  THE  STORY  OP  LINCOLN. 

friends  at  a  fashionable  hotel  he  said,  "Why, 
Aunt's  heart  would  be  broken,  if  she  knew  I 
had  been  so  near,  and  did  not  come  to  see 
her. "  Off  he  rode  over  six  miles  of  dusty 
road  to  spend  the  night  with  his  humble 
relative. 

His  stepmother  once  said  of  him,  "Abe 
was  a  good  boy,  and  I  can  say  what  scarcely 
one  mother  in  a  thousand  can  say — Abe 
never  gave  me  a  cross  look  or  word,  and 
never  refused,  in  fact  or  appearance,  to  do 
anything  that  I  requested  of  him.  I  never 
gave  him  a  cross  word  in  all  my  life.  His 
mind  and  mine- -what  little  I  had — seemed 
to  run  together.  He  was  here  after  he  was 
elected  President.  He  was  a  dutiful  son 
to  me  always.  I  think  he  loved  me  truly. 
I  had  a  son,  John,  who  was  raised  with 
Abe.  Both  were  good  boys;  but  I  must 
say,  both  now  being  dead,  that  Abe  was  the 
best  boy  I  ever  saw,  or  expect  to  see." 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS.  101 

Miss  Kate  Roby  relates  an  incident  which 
illustrates  alike  Lincoln's  proficiency  in  or- 
thography and  his  natural  inclination  to  help 
another  when  in  need  of  help.  The  word 
"defied"  had  been  given  out  by  Schoolmas- 
ter Crawford,  but  had  been  misspelled  once 
or  twice  when  it  came  Miss  Roby's  turn. 
She  tells  the  following  story:  "Abe  stood 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  and  was 
watching  me.  I  began,  d-e-f-,  and  then  I 
stopped,  hesitating  whether  to  proceed  with 
an  i  or  a  y.  Looking  up,  I  beheld  Abe,  a 
smile  covering  his  face,  and  pointing  with 
his  index  finger  to  his  eye.  I  took  the  hint, 
spelled  the  word  with  an  i,  and  went  through 
all  right." 


One  evening  soon  after  his  election  as 
President,  while  Mr.  Lincoln  was  attending 
a  reception  in  Chicago,  he  saw  a  little  girl 
coming  timidly  toward  him. 


102  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

He  at  once  went  to  her  and  asked  what 
she  wished.  She  replied,  "I  want  you  to 
write  your  name  for  me."  Mr.  Lincoln 
looked  back  into  the  room  and  said:  "But 
here  are  other  little  girls;  they  would  feel 
badly  if  I  should  give  my  name  only  to  you.' 

The  little  one  replied,  "There  are  eight 
altogether.'1 

"Then,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "get  me  eight 
sheets  of  paper,  and  a  pen  and  ink,  and  I 
will  see  what  I  can  do  for  you.'1  The  little 
girl  went  out  and  quickly  returned  with  the 
paper.  The  President  sat  down  in  the 
crowded  drawing  room,  wrote  a  sentence 
upon  each  sheet,  and  signed  his  name. 
Every  little  girl  carried  off  her  souvenir. 


Another  afternoon  during  the  visit  to  Chi- 
cago, Mr.  Lincoln  was  shaking  hands  with 
all  the  guests,  when  a  little  boy  entered  the 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS.  103 

room,  and  to  everybody's  surprise,  took  off 
his  hat,  and  giving  it  a  swing  said,  "Hurrah 
for  Lincoln!" 

Mr.  Lincoln  wended  his  way  through  the 
crowd  to  the  child,  picked  him  up,  tossed 

him  to  the  ceiling  and  said,    "Hurrah   for 

/ " 
you! 

The  Hon.  W.  D.  Kell  tells  this  pleasant 
story  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  kindness: 

"I  went  to  the  President  and  told  him 
that  a  little  lad,  whose  home  was  in  my 
town,  had  served  a  year  on  board  the  gun 
boat  Ottawa,  and  had  been  in  two  import- 
ant engagements — in  the  first  as  a  powder- 
monkey. 

"In  this  engagement  he  had  been  so  cool 
and  brave  that  he  had  been  chosen  a  cap- 
tain's messenger  in  the  second  engagement. 
I  asked  the  President  if  he  did  not  have  it 
in  his  power  to  appoint  to  the  naval  school 


104  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

the  boys  who  had  served  a  year  in  the  navy. 
He  at  once  wrote  on  the  back  of  a  letter  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  'If  the  appoint- 
ments this  year  have  not  been  made,  let 
this  boy  be  appointed.'  The  appointment 
had  not  been  made,  and  I  brought  it  home 
with  me. 

"The  lad  was  to  report  in  July,  but  his 
father  found  he  was  not  old  enough  until 
the  following  September.  The  poor  child  sat 
down  and  wept.  He  feared  that  he  was  not 
to  go  to  the  naval  school.  He  was,  how- 
ever, soon  consoled  by  being  told  that  the 
President  could  make  it  right.  It  was  my 
fortune  to  meet  him  one  morning  at  the 
door  of  the  executive  chamber  with  his 
father.  Taking  by  .the  hand  the  little  fellow 
— short  for  his  age,  dressed  in  the  sailors 
blue  pants  and  shirt — I  led  him  to  the 
President,  who  sat  in  his  usual  seat,  and 
said:  'Mr.  President,  my  young  friend, 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS.  105 

Willie  Bladen,  finds  a  difficulty  about  his 
appointment.  You  have  directed  him  to 
appear  at  the  school  in  July;  but  he  is  not 
yet  fourteen  years  of  age. '  But  before  I  got 
half  of  this  out,  Mr.  Lincoln,  laying  down 
his  spectacles,  rose  and  said:  'Bless  me!  Is 
that  the  boy  who  did  so  gallantly  in  those 
two  great  battles?  Why,  I  feel  that  I  should 
bow  to  him,  and  not  he  to  me.'  The  little 
fellow  had  made  his  graceful  bow. 

'  'The  President  took  the  papers  at  once, 
and  as  soon  as  he  learned  that  a  postpone- 
ment until  September  would  suffice,  made 
the  order  that  the  lad  should  report  in  that 
month.  Then  putting  his  hand  on  Willie's 
head  he  said:  'Now,  my  boy,  go  home  and 
have  some  fun  during  the  two  months,  for 
they  are  about  the  last  holidays  you 
will  get.' 

"The  little  fellow  bowed  himself  out,  feel- 
ing that  the  President  of  the  United  States, 


106  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

though  a  very  great  man,  was  one  with 
whom  he  would,  nevertheless,  like  to  have  a 
romp." 


One  night  during  the  war  the  President 
had  retired,  after  a  day  of  overwork.  The 
sentinel  was  not  to  admit  any  one. 

A  congressman  came,  and  after  a  long 
parley  was  told  where  he  could  find  the 
President.  The  congressman  was  an  old 

* 

friend  of  Mr.  Lincoln's,  and  went  straight  to 
his  bedside.  In  an  excited  manner  he  told 
Mr.  Lincoln  he  had  just  received  a  dispatch 
announcing  the  hour  .of  execution  of  a  young 
neighbor  boy  of  his. 

"This  man  must  not  be  shot,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent," said  he.  "I  can't  help  what  he  may 
have  done.  Why,  he  is  an  old  neighbor  of 
mine.  I  can't  allow  him  to  be  shot!"  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  remained  in  bed,  quietly  listen- 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS.  107 

ing  to  the  vehement  protesting  of  his  old 
friend  (they  had  been  in  congress  together). 
He  at  length  said:  ''Well,  I  don't  believe 
shooting  him  will  do  any  good.  Give  me  that 
pen. "  And  so  saying  "red  tape"  was  un- 
ceremoniously cut,  and  another  poor  fellow's 
lease  of  life  was  indefinitely  extended. 


Both  the  steward  and  the  cook  had  re- 
monstrated with  "Master  Tad"  upon  bring- 
ing into  the  kitchen  of  the  White  House 
such  squads  of  poor,  dirty,  hungry  street 
urchins  to  be  fed,  and  at  last  Peter  said 
that  Mrs.  Lincoln  must  be  told. 

Tad  flew  into  a  rage,  ran  upstairs  to  see 
his  mother,  and  not  finding  her  searched 
the  place  for  his  busy  father. 

Meanwhile,  the  small  objects  of  his  char- 
ity waited  at  the  lower  door- -for  Peter  had 
absolutely  refused  to  let  them  "step  inside.'1 


108 


THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


The  indignant  boy  spied  his  father  just 
crossing  the  yard,  with  head  bowed,  eyes  to 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN   AND  TAD. 

the  ground,  talking  earnestly  with  Mr.  Sew- 
ard  as  they  walked  to  the  Department  of 
State  together. 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS.  109 

He  cried  out  to  him  at  once:  "Father! 
father!  can't  I  bring  those  poor,  cold  hun- 
gry boys  home  with  me  whenever  I  want  to? 
Isn't  it  our  kitchen?  Can't  I  give  them  a 
good  warm  dinner  today,  say?  They're  just 
as  hungry  as  bears,  and  two  of  them  are  the 
boys  of  a  soldier,  too!  And,  father,  I'm  go- 
ing to  discharge  Peter  this  minute  if  he  don't 
get  out  the  meat,  and  chicken,  and  pies,  and 
all  the  good  things  we  had  left  yesterday! 
Say,  mayn't  I?  Isn't  it  our  kitchen,  father?" 

Secretary  Seward  was  shaking  with  laugh- 
ter. 

Mr.  Lincoln  turned  to  him  with  a  twinkle: 
4 'Seward,  advise  with  me.  This  case  re- 
quires diplomacy. '  Mr.  Seward  patted  Tad 
on  the  head,  and  said  he  must  be  careful 
not  to  run  the  government  in  debt;  and  the 
President  took  Tad's  little  brown  hands  in 
his  own  big  ones,  and  with  a  very  droll 
smile,  bade  him  "run  along  home  and  feed 


110  THE   STOIIY  OF  LINCOLN. 

the  boys,"  and  added:    "Tell  Peter  that  you 
are  really  required  to  obey  the  Bible  by  get 
ting  in  the  maimed  and  the  blind,  and  that 
he  must  be  a  better  Christian  than  he  is." 

"In  less  than  an  hour,'  Mr.  Seward  said, 
"we  passed  through  the  yard  on  our  way  to 
the  cabinet  meeting,  and  no  less  than  ten 
small   boys  we're  sitting  on  the  lower  steps, 
cracking  nuts,  and  having  a  State  Dinner. 

Mr.    Lincoln    remarked    "the  kitchen    is 
ours. ' 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


112  THE  STOEY  OF  LINCOLN. 


XXL 

DEATH  OF  MR.  LINCOLN, 


The  close  of  the  war  was  near.  In  April, 
the  President  received  the  news  that  Gen- 
eral Lee,  commander  of  the  Confederate 
armies,  had  surrendered.  When  the  glo- 
rious tidings  that  the  Union  was  pre- 
served flashed  over  the  wires,  the  country 
became  wild  with  joy.  Flags  were  hoisted 
everywhere.  Bells  were  rung,  cannons 
fired,  bonfires  were  built,  and  prayers  of 
thanksgiving  were  offered. 

On  the  night  after  Lee's  surrender  there 
was  a  great  celebration  in  Washington. 

The  White  House  and  all  the  public 
buildings  were  brilliantly  illuminated  and 
decorated  with  flags.  An  immense  throng 


DEATH  OP  MR.  LINCOLN.  113 


gathered  about  the  Capitol  to  hear  what  the 
President  would  say. 

Those  who  listened  and  cheered  little 
thought  that  these  would  be  the  last  words 
they  would  ever  hear  from  the  lips  of  the 
great  man  whom  they  loved. 

Let  us  always  remember  that  his  last 
public  speech  contained  this  noble  senti- 
ment: "He  from  whom  all  blessing  flow 
must  not  be  forgotten.'  All  his  utterances 
that  night  were  full  of  his  great  unselfish 
spirit.  What  a  grand  scene  that  was!  The 
handsome  building,  the  happy  multitudes, 
the  noble  face  of  their  great  chief  beaming 
upon  them!  What  a  contrast  to  the  terrible 
picture  of  the  following  night!  For  then  the 
city  was  plunged  into  mourning  over  the  most 
tragic  death  our  nation  has  ever  known. 

On  the  morning  following,  the  President 
breakfasted  with  his  son,  Robert  Lincoln,  a 
member  of  Grant's  staff.  He  listened  with 


114  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 

deep  interest  to  his  son's  description  of  Lee's 
surrender.  After  this  he  attended  a  cabinet 
meeting,  and  in  the  afternoon  went  for  a 
long  ride  with  Mrs.  Lincoln.  His  heart  was 
full  of  happiness,  and  the  sad  look  usually 
on  his  face,  gave  way  to  smiles.  That  night 
they  went  to  Ford's  Theater.  The  manager 
had  advertised  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  oc- 
cupy a  box.  Every  seat  in  the  building  was 
taken,  as  thousands  were  eager  to  see  the 
President. 

Between  two  of  the  acts,  John  Wilkes 
Booth,  an  actor,  who  considered  Mr.  Lin- 
coln a  tyrant,  and  whose  heart  was  full  of 
bitterness,  entered  the  President's  box  and 
shot  him.  At  first  the  audience  did  not 
know  what  had  happened,  but  only  a  few 
minutes  elapsed  before  they  heard  the  fatal 
words,  ''The  President  has  been  shot,  and 
the  wound  is  mortal." 

Never  has  our  nation  been  so  stricken  by 


DEATH  OF  MR.  LINCOLN.  115 

the  death  of  a  citizen  and  leader.  Captain 
Lincoln  and  little  Tad  did  not  grieve  alone. 
The  whole  nation  was  fatherless. 

He  had  given  his  life  to  the  service  of  his 
people,  and  they  realized  that  the  nation 
had  lost  its  grandest  hero.  The  beauti- 
ful life  was  ended,  but  its  influence  is  with 
us  today,  and  the  name  of  Lincoln  will  be 
ever  linked  with  that  of  Washington. 

The  following  poem,  written  by  William 
Cullen  Bryant,  is  a  fitting  close  to  our  story: 

O,  slow  to  smite  and  swift  to  spare, 

Gentle  and  merciful  and  just! 
Who,  in  the  fear  of  God,  didst  bear 

The  sword  of  power — a  nation's  trust. 

In  sorrow  by  thy  bier  we  stand 

Amid  the  awe  that  hushes  all, 
And  speak  the  anguish  of  a  land 

That  shook  with  horror  at  thy  fall. 

Thy  task  is  done — the  bond  is  free: 
We  bear  thee  to  an  honored  grave, 

Whose  noblest  monument  shall  be 
The  broken  fetters  of  the  slave. 

Pure  was  thy  life  ;  its  bloody  close 

Hath  placed  thee  with  the  sons  of  light 

Among  the  noble  host  of  those 

Who  perished  in  the  cause  of  right. 


116  THE  STORY  OF  LINCOLN. 


WHEN  LINCOLN   DIED. 

When  Lincoln  died  a  universal  grief 
Went  round  the  earth.     Men  loved  him  in  that  hour. 
The  North  her  leader  lost;  the  South,  her  friend  ; 
The  nation  lost  its  savior ;  and  the  slave 
Lost  his  deliverer,  the  most  of  all. 
O,  there  was  sorrow  'mid  the  humble  poor. 
When  Lincoln  died. 

When  Lincoln  died,  a  great  soul  passed  from  earth. 
In  him  were  strength  and  gentleness  so  mixed, 
That  each  upheld  the  other.     He  Avas  firm 
And  yet  was  kind ;  as  tender  as  a  child, 
And  yet  as  iron-willed  as  Hercules. 
His  power  was  almost  limitless,  and  yet 
•His  mercy  was  as  boundless  as  his  power. 
And  he  was  jovial,  laughter-loving",  still 
His  heart  was  ever  torn  with  suffering. 
There  was  divine  compassion  in  the  man, 
A  God-like  love  and  pity  for  his  race. 
The  world  saw  the  full  measure  of  that  love, 
When  Lincoln  died. 

When  Lincoln  died,  a  type  was  lost  to  men. 
The  earth  has  had  her  conquerors  and  kings 
And  many  of  the  common  great.     Through  all, 
She  only  had  one  Lincoln.     There  are  none 
Like  him  in  all  the  annals  of  the  past. 
He  was  ihe  growth  of  our  new  soil ;  a  child 
Of  our  new  time  ;  he  was  American  : 
Was  of  the  people,  from  the  lowest  rank  ; 
And  yet  he  scaled  with  ease  the  highest  height. 
Mankind  one  of  its  few  immortals  lost, 
When  Lincoln  died. 


DEATH  OF  MR.  LINCOLN.  117 

When  Lincoln  died,  it  seemed  a  providence  ; 

For  he  appeared  as  one  sent  for  a  work. 

Whom,  when  that  work  was  done,  God  summoned  home. 

He  led  a  splendid  fight  for  liberty  ; 

And  when  the  shackles  fell,  the  land  was  saved, 

He  laid  his  armor  by  and  sought  his  rest. 

A  glory,  sent  from  heaven,  covered  him, 

When  Lincoln  died. 

— J.  A.  Edgcrton. 


